Asus Announces 802.11ac Router

TAIPEI—Tech giant Asus has already made a lot of announcements at Computex 2012 here, most of them centered on its Open Cloud Computing initiative that it claims makes "one seamless platform" of all the devices in your life.

But despite the tablets, laptops, all-in-ones, and various combinations thereof, Asus hasn't left out the one most important piece: how you connect to the cloud in the first place. It's providing that as well with its new RT-AC66U router.

The RT-AC66U integrates 2.4-GHz dual-band Gigabit wireless with 5-GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which is capable of speeds up to three times those currently possible with 802.11n. Asus claims that the router's total bandwidth is 1.75Gbps, which is a high enough data rate for heavy-duty online applications.

Also included with the router are Asus's AiRadar signal amplification and shaping, simplified setup with AsusWRT, multiple SSIDs, IPv6 support, and a USB port that lets it support 3G connectivity, FTP, and DLNA.

Asus has not yet made any announcements about the RT-AC66U's price or availability.

Matthew Murray got his humble start leading a technology-sensitive life in elementary school, where he struggled to satisfy his ravenous hunger for computers, computer games, and writing book reports in Integer BASIC. He earned his B.A. in Dramatic Writing at Western Washington University, where he also minored in Web design and German. He has been building computers for himself and others for more than 20 years, and he spent several years working in IT and helpdesk capacities before escaping into the far more exciting world...
More »